Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback Setting
Enhancing the embodiment of artificial limbs—the individuals' feeling that a virtual or robotic limb is integrated in their own body scheme—is an impactful strategy for improving prosthetic technology acceptance and human-machine interaction. Most studies so far focused on visuo-tactile strateg...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-08-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Neurorobotics |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2021.683653/full |
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record_format |
Article |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Giacinto Barresi Andrea Marinelli Andrea Marinelli Giulia Caserta Giulia Caserta Massimiliano de Zambotti Jacopo Tessadori Laura Angioletti Laura Angioletti Nicolò Boccardo Marco Freddolini Dario Mazzanti Nikhil Deshpande Carlo Albino Frigo Michela Balconi Michela Balconi Emanuele Gruppioni Matteo Laffranchi Lorenzo De Michieli |
spellingShingle |
Giacinto Barresi Andrea Marinelli Andrea Marinelli Giulia Caserta Giulia Caserta Massimiliano de Zambotti Jacopo Tessadori Laura Angioletti Laura Angioletti Nicolò Boccardo Marco Freddolini Dario Mazzanti Nikhil Deshpande Carlo Albino Frigo Michela Balconi Michela Balconi Emanuele Gruppioni Matteo Laffranchi Lorenzo De Michieli Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback Setting Frontiers in Neurorobotics embodiment augmented reality prosthetics biofeedback training breathing |
author_facet |
Giacinto Barresi Andrea Marinelli Andrea Marinelli Giulia Caserta Giulia Caserta Massimiliano de Zambotti Jacopo Tessadori Laura Angioletti Laura Angioletti Nicolò Boccardo Marco Freddolini Dario Mazzanti Nikhil Deshpande Carlo Albino Frigo Michela Balconi Michela Balconi Emanuele Gruppioni Matteo Laffranchi Lorenzo De Michieli |
author_sort |
Giacinto Barresi |
title |
Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback Setting |
title_short |
Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback Setting |
title_full |
Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback Setting |
title_fullStr |
Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback Setting |
title_full_unstemmed |
Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback Setting |
title_sort |
exploring the embodiment of a virtual hand in a spatially augmented respiratory biofeedback setting |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Neurorobotics |
issn |
1662-5218 |
publishDate |
2021-08-01 |
description |
Enhancing the embodiment of artificial limbs—the individuals' feeling that a virtual or robotic limb is integrated in their own body scheme—is an impactful strategy for improving prosthetic technology acceptance and human-machine interaction. Most studies so far focused on visuo-tactile strategies to empower the embodiment processes. However, novel approaches could emerge from self-regulation techniques able to change the psychophysiological conditions of an individual. Accordingly, this pilot study investigates the effects of a self-regulated breathing exercise on the processes of body ownership underlying the embodiment of a virtual right hand within a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback (SARB) setting. This investigation also aims at evaluating the feasibility of the breathing exercise enabled by a low-cost SARB implementation designed for upcoming remote studies (a need emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic). Twenty-two subjects without impairments, and two transradial prosthesis users for a preparatory test, were asked (in each condition of a within-group design) to maintain a normal (about 14 breaths/min) or slow (about 6 breaths/min) respiratory rate to keep a static virtual right hand “visible” on a screen. Meanwhile, a computer-generated sphere moved from left to right toward the virtual hand during each trial (1 min) of 16. If the participant's breathing rate was within the target (slow or normal) range, a visuo-tactile event was triggered by the sphere passing under the virtual hand (the subjects observed it shaking while they perceived a vibratory feedback generated by a smartphone). Our results—mainly based on questionnaire scores and proprioceptive drift—highlight that the slow breathing condition induced higher embodiment than the normal one. This preliminary study reveals the feasibility and potential of a novel psychophysiological training strategy to enhance the embodiment of artificial limbs. Future studies are needed to further investigate mechanisms, efficacy and generalizability of the SARB techniques in training a bionic limb embodiment. |
topic |
embodiment augmented reality prosthetics biofeedback training breathing |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2021.683653/full |
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doaj-a9bf86bfc75d4b29baf2daf350ae9efb2021-09-07T16:31:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurorobotics1662-52182021-08-011510.3389/fnbot.2021.683653683653Exploring the Embodiment of a Virtual Hand in a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback SettingGiacinto Barresi0Andrea Marinelli1Andrea Marinelli2Giulia Caserta3Giulia Caserta4Massimiliano de Zambotti5Jacopo Tessadori6Laura Angioletti7Laura Angioletti8Nicolò Boccardo9Marco Freddolini10Dario Mazzanti11Nikhil Deshpande12Carlo Albino Frigo13Michela Balconi14Michela Balconi15Emanuele Gruppioni16Matteo Laffranchi17Lorenzo De Michieli18Rehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyRehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics, and Systems Engineering, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, ItalyRehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyMovement Biomechanics and Motor Control Lab, Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, ItalyCenter for Health Sciences, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, United StatesVisual Geometry and Modelling, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyInternational Research Center for Cognitive Applied Neuroscience, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, ItalyResearch Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, ItalyRehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyRehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyAdvanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyAdvanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyMovement Biomechanics and Motor Control Lab, Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, ItalyInternational Research Center for Cognitive Applied Neuroscience, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, ItalyResearch Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, ItalyCentro Protesi INAIL, Istituto Nazionale per l'Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro, Bologna, ItalyRehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyRehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, ItalyEnhancing the embodiment of artificial limbs—the individuals' feeling that a virtual or robotic limb is integrated in their own body scheme—is an impactful strategy for improving prosthetic technology acceptance and human-machine interaction. Most studies so far focused on visuo-tactile strategies to empower the embodiment processes. However, novel approaches could emerge from self-regulation techniques able to change the psychophysiological conditions of an individual. Accordingly, this pilot study investigates the effects of a self-regulated breathing exercise on the processes of body ownership underlying the embodiment of a virtual right hand within a Spatially Augmented Respiratory Biofeedback (SARB) setting. This investigation also aims at evaluating the feasibility of the breathing exercise enabled by a low-cost SARB implementation designed for upcoming remote studies (a need emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic). Twenty-two subjects without impairments, and two transradial prosthesis users for a preparatory test, were asked (in each condition of a within-group design) to maintain a normal (about 14 breaths/min) or slow (about 6 breaths/min) respiratory rate to keep a static virtual right hand “visible” on a screen. Meanwhile, a computer-generated sphere moved from left to right toward the virtual hand during each trial (1 min) of 16. If the participant's breathing rate was within the target (slow or normal) range, a visuo-tactile event was triggered by the sphere passing under the virtual hand (the subjects observed it shaking while they perceived a vibratory feedback generated by a smartphone). Our results—mainly based on questionnaire scores and proprioceptive drift—highlight that the slow breathing condition induced higher embodiment than the normal one. This preliminary study reveals the feasibility and potential of a novel psychophysiological training strategy to enhance the embodiment of artificial limbs. Future studies are needed to further investigate mechanisms, efficacy and generalizability of the SARB techniques in training a bionic limb embodiment.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2021.683653/fullembodimentaugmented realityprostheticsbiofeedbacktrainingbreathing |